The 1980s: The Golden Age of Commercials
Remember the 80's? Television had really hit a stride in this exuberant decade, and it wasn't just the sitcoms, Saturday morning cartoons, and prime-time soaps, but the segments that filled the voids between. From the ones you can't help but remember to the ones you wish you could forget, here are the commercials that will be with us forever: the immortals.
My Buddy and Kid Sister (above)
Hey look Mom! It's a stuffed child wearing overalls! I'll take two.
Bud Light
Spuds McKinzee: The only dog that you can't help but think got more action than any impersario with aviators and a Trans-Am.
7-Up
There was a time in our history when all one had to do to create a successful marketing mascot was throw on shades and sneakers. This guy even had his own Nintendo game.
Coke
Max Headroom was a spokesman, a talk-show host, and not quite human. Only in the 80s could a man in a polygon mask stutter his way into our pocketbooks.
Hi-C Ecto-Cooler
Tie-ins were always an important part of 80s marketing, hence kids juice drinks were named after things like the Ghostbuster's car rather than, say, fruit.
Busch Beer
Flat beer, pretty horses.
Domino's Pizza
It's a tough call between The Noid and The California Raisins, either way Will Vinton Studios was the king of stop-motion commercials.
Wendys How do you separate your Cheeseburgers from those of the other fast food monoliths? Wendy's decided the trick was marketing to an older crowd, and it worked better than anyone might have hoped. Enjoy these old women partaking in wacky antics, and asking the now famous question, "Where's the beef?"
Dunkin Donuts
Time to make the doughnuts.
Mighty Dog
Flying dogs! That's adorable! In the 80's, before we had memes to give daily doses of puppy love, pet-food commercials filled a sacred void.
Doublemint Gum
We'll take the gum that attractive twins chew, we hear it has double the pleasure... whatever that means.
Teddy Ruxpin
Some feared him, others embraced him - The eternal plight of the talking teddy bear.
Micro Machines
This guy talks really really fast, and look at that mustache! The Micro-Machines guy should be doing infomercials, and with Billy Mays out of the picture I think there's an open spot! Too soon?
Flintstones Vitamins
Flinstone Vitamins! Wait... where are the Flintstones? Oh well, this song being sung by a choir of unseen children is creepily catchy. They did something right, we always asked for them by name.
Power Wheels
Oh sure, you can make electric cars for children, and we're still only getting 25mpg? I'm calling Ralph Nader!
Crest Toothpaste
This was seriously advanced animation for a toothpaste commercial, and my God, it's really epic.
Mr. Clean
Mr. Clean was the imaginary gardener your mother wanted to cheat on your father with, good thing your dad didn't make enough money to hire a gardener.
British Knights
These were for people who wanted to keep their footwear real. Really real.
The Clapper
Somebody missed a real opportunity by not making these compatible with toilets.
Life Call
Life Call was a flop, but that commercial was the funniest thing on daytime television for that one year. Ladies and Gentleman, prepare yourselves, it's the "I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up" Lady.
Super Mario 2
We'll still never get as excited over a video game as we did when we found out a second Super Mario Brothers game was coming out.
Grey Poupon
This one taught us a lesson we'll never forget - Rich people LOVE mustard!
Apple
Even if you aren't a child of the 80's you've probably seen this gem from Jobs Inc. We think it's even better than the 1984 movie that came out in 1984. George Orwell's novel warned us against Photobooth, but it looks like Big Brother won out after all.
Power Glove
The only good thing about the Power Glove was this commercial and the scene where the bad guy in The Wizard used it to try and beat the Boy Meets World kid. What a POS (Not you Mr. Savage, that stupid glove-thing).
Frogger
The most amazing thing since Pong.
JELLO
Jello was a tasty treat moms would always make you because Cliff Huxtable challenged their ability as parents. If they didn't offer you a snack infused with gelatin, you knew and they knew The Cos would be disappointed.
Folgers
The best part of waking up is Folgers in your cup. That and a pack of Camels, but good luck finding any Joe Camel commercials floating around the internet.
McDonalds
We have McDonalds to thank for introducing us to Marty McFly. Their second greatest accomplishment, only outmatched by the glorious Grimace.